The present invention relates generally to a system for reducing and monitoring wear on mechanical components. More specifically, the present invention relates to reducing and monitoring wear in a holding receptacle having a sliding frame.
Bins and silos are large holding receptacles used to store and discharge materials. Bins are typically rectangular while silos are typically cylindrical, but both have an inlet at the top for introducing material and an outlet at the bottom for removing material. For the sake of simplicity, bins and silos are referred to collectively as “bins” or “receptacles” throughout this disclosure.
Virtually any type of material may be placed into a bin and later discharged. Viscous wet materials, however, are difficult to discharge because they are not free-flowing. For example, municipal waste sludge stored in bins tends to clump together and form bridges over a discharge opening. Discharge devices, such as a sliding frame, may be incorporated into the bottom of a bin above a discharge opening to dislodge material bridges and induce sludge flow.